Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber president Bryan Dowley and deputy president Nomkhita Mona will step down at the Chamber AGM later this month, but will both remain active members of the Board, the Chamber Board announced after its meeting on 10 May 2012.
The Board will elect new office-bearers immediately after the annual general meeting on 23 May, in line with the Chamber constitution.
Dowley said that although he enjoyed the support of the Board, he believed it was time to step down, citing that it was time to inject fresh cooperative spirit into the Chamber. Mona has resigned her position due to increased business commitments, but will also remain on the Board for the immediate future.
Dowley has served on the Chamber Board for eight years, of which he has been President for the past year. In line with the King III code on corporate governance, Chamber Board members serve for a maximum of nine years.
He said today: “It has been a privilege to serve the Chamber and the city in a leadership capacity over the past eight years. During this time we have witnessed significant changes to the economic landscape. We are now living in an era of global turmoil, mass unemployment, civil disturbance, and faltering economies all of which are highlighting and exposing the gap between the ‘haves and the have nots’.
“Government and Business, more than ever before, need to find one another quickly in their joint responsibility to create a stable environment for our people and for our economy. It is going to take extraordinary commitment, integrity, leadership and resolve to establish a stable economy and a society respectful of, and accountable to, one another. I have the utmost confidence that I am stepping down at a time when the Chamber is well positioned to be able to act as a significant facilitator in this regard,” Dowley said.
Mona has advised the Board that she will remain a member, but will not be available to serve as deputy president after the AGM. She was recently elected to the Eastern Cape Provincial Planning Commission and said that this commitment, together with her UDDI role and new national commitments, had necessitated standing down as a Chamber office-bearer.
Chamber CEO Kevin Hustler thanked both Mr Dowley and Ms Mona for the meaningful role they had played, noting that “Bryan brings energy, entrepreneurial drive and a real passion for the city” which will not be lost to the Board. “Nomkhita’s depth of expertise and wide stakeholder networks have been invaluable, and we are glad that we’ll continue to have both of their contributions at Board level for the immediate future,” he said.
Alan Straton
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